An upside down Taxing system

By Ghassan Karam
It is well known that the market fails to deliver on its promises of efficiency for many reasons such as the predominance of negative externalities;

Big quake question: Is nature out of control?

Chile is on a hotspot of sorts for earthquake activity. And so the 8.8-magnitude temblor that shook the region overnight was not a surprise

Germany, France, Netherlands to rescue Greece from debt crisis

Germany, France and the Netherlands plan to buy Greek bonds to help Athens cope with a severe debt crisis, a German member of the European Parliament told Greek television on Saturday. (more…)

Jumblatt ends his visit to Turkey

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt ended his official visit to Turkey and is back in Beirut, his party said in a statement on Saturday.

Two Democratic Gathering bloc members…Public Works and Transportation Minister Ghazi Aridi and MP Marwan Hamadeh, accompanied him to Turkey . They traveled there after receiving an invitation from the country’s Foreign Ministry, the National News Agency (NNA) reported.

Mitri: Cabinet forms a commission to discuss reforms/amendments

Lebanon’s Information Minister Tarek Mitri briefed the media following the cabinet meeting at the Baabda palace. (more…)

Renewed tension looms in Turkey after military arrests

A retired Turkish general charged over a plot to unseat the government said “the struggle has now started,” as a string of high-profile arrests risks renewed strain between Ankara and the military. (more…)

Huge earthquake hits Chile, triggers a tsunami

A massive magnitude-8.8 earthquake struck south-central Chile early on Saturday, reportedly killing 17 people, triggering a tsunami and rattling buildings in the capital Santiago.
Local radio said 17 people were killed and President Michelle Bachelet confirmed six deaths, saying more were possible. Telephone and power lines were down, making a quick damage assessment difficult in the early morning darkness. (more…)

Cabinet is in session at Baabda

Cabinet is in session at the Baabda Republican palace. President Michel Suleiman who will chair the special session met earlier today with PM Saad Hariri . The purpose of this session is to finalize the discussions regarding the reforms of the electoral law for the Municipal elections.
MP Robert Ghanem told Future News TV earlier today : If there is a will to hold municipal elections on time, the draft law won’t take much time in the Parliament, and I’m not convinced, up till now about adopting proportional representation.

Assassination of Hamas leader in Dubai scares Hezbollah

Hezbollah has reportedly requested the Lebanese authorities to keep an eye on foreigners coming from countries whose passports were used in the operation of assassinating Hamas top official Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai, according to Asharq al-Awsat newspaper (more…)

Zoghbi: The fate of Lebanon cannot be decided in Damascus

March 14 member Elias Zoghbi called for an emergency dialogue session to discuss the war escalation in the region and its effect on Lebanon.
In reference to the meeting held in Damascus between Hezbollah leader and the Iranian and Syrian presidents he said : ” The fate of Lebanon cannot be decided in the tripartite meeting that was held in Damascus and which was described as a summit on Lebanon , but in which neither the Lebanese president nor the prime minister or the speaker were there “. (more…)